Stars and Water

Chapter 2

Two days later Maria was at the Talon getting coffee. She had just dropped her little brother Nick off at his preschool and was feeling frazzled. Her Mother's new job meant Maria had to take care of Nick more and she was realizing she wasn't as prepared for it as she thought. He had been difficult and she had been so busy convincing him to keep his shoes on that she had forgotten to add the water to the coffeepot. Then she had forgotten his lunch and had to drive back to get it. After finally getting him to preschool she decided to let someone else make the coffee and came into the Talon to relax.

She ordered a large cup of black coffee and when they handed it to her she held it to her nose and inhaled blissfully. Things are going to go much better now, she thought. Then she turned around with her steaming cup of coffee and walked right into Clark, pouring hot coffee down the front of his blue T-shirt. "Oh no!" Maria exclaimed as Clark jumped back, "Oh God, I'm so sorry, I must have burned you!" She grabbed a glass of ice water off a nearby table and dumped it on his chest.

"Whoa, that's okay!" Clark exclaimed "I think the fire's out now!" and he laughed.

Maria was surprised at his good nature and gathered the courage to look up, and up, into his eyes. She had to stifle a gasp at how beautiful they were. They were a light, clear green, with lovely long, black lashes and they were gazing merrily back at her as he flashed her a reassuring smile. She couldn't help but smile back as she apologized again, "I am sorry, I'm having one of those mornings and I didn't see you."

"It's okay, really" Clark said "I wasn't watching either." Not only was he okay, Clark was secretly delighted, he recognized the girl he had seen downtown the other day and now he had an excuse to talk to her. She could pour coffee on him all she wanted if she would just keep looking up at him with those amazing warm brown eyes of hers. Now she was blushing and her cheeks were turning a very pretty shade of pink, and those dimples!

She was so cute and flustered as she tried to wipe his shirt with a pile of napkins that Clark felt a powerful urge to kiss her and show her everything would be all right. As if he'd ever have the guts to do something like that, he thought. "Look, let me buy you another coffee, I don't think there's much left in your cup." He said and in spite of her protests he bought her a fresh cup and then invited her to sit with him to drink it. "My table is right here and that way you don't have so far to carry it." He teased.

Maria sat at the table and they drank their coffee in silence for a moment. Say something, she thought, anything, but her mind was a complete blank. All she could do was look at his gorgeous face as he smiled at her and then looked down at his coffee. He was beyond good looking with his perfect skin, strong jaw, slightly messy brown hair curling on his collar and his impossibly green eyes.

When he smiled his shy smile it took her breath away. She felt his smile like a physical blow to her gut, knocking the wind out of her and rendering her senseless. She was afraid if she talked now nothing but gibberish would come out.

It was strange how he looked familiar somehow. Not his face, she would never have forgotten that once she had seen it, but the way he had walked as they went to the table, his long legs, slender waist and broad shoulders. Then it came to her and she blushed deep crimson. He was the guy from the lake.

Say something, Clark thought. He felt his breath catch as he saw her sweet smile aimed at him. He felt blessed somehow, like he was being smiled at by an angel. A warm feeling filled him and he was afraid if he spoke his voice would crack.

Clark watched her lashes brush her cheeks and her soft hair slip forward into her face as she quickly looked down into her coffee. He longed to reach out and brush her hair away from her face, cup her cheek with his hand, and kiss those lovely lips that curved up so sweetly at the corners. He noticed she kept her eyes glued to her coffee and her cheeks were even redder than before. Wow, she's even shyer than I am, he thought, and somehow that thought gave him confidence.

"My name's Clark," He said holding out his hand, "Clark Kent". She reached out and put her hand in his and he felt the touch all the way through his body like an electrical current, warm and exciting. He felt heat grow behind his eyes and to his astonishment had to control his heat vision for the first time in a long time.

"Maria Desantis" She said, smiling into his incredible eyes. His hand was warm and gentle and he gave her hand a little squeeze rather than a handshake. She felt the touch as though it had been the most intimate caress and her body responded with a flash of heat that shocked her. For a moment as she looked into his smiling eyes the world faded and it seemed like everything stopped. She slowly, reluctantly, took her hand back.

"You're new to Smallville aren't you?" Clark asked, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, we moved in last week from Eugene, Oregon." She replied. "My Mom just started a job working for Luthor Corps." Maria smiled happily at Clark. She was proud of her Mom; this was a prestigious position in a world renowned company. Clark felt a chill come over him at the mention of the Luthor name and suddenly all those warm happy thoughts fled, to be replaced by harsh memories.

Clark's reaction to the name surprised her; he gasped and moved away, almost as though he was ready to bolt for the door. "Your Mom knows Lex Luthor?" Clark asked.

Maria looked at him puzzled, "She knows his head of human resources but I don't think she ever got to meet Mr. Luthor himself. Is something wrong?"

Clark looked away and was silent a moment, then he said quietly "I know it's none of my business but your Mom shouldn't be working for him." Clark looked back and caught her gaze, looking earnestly into her eyes. "Maria, please take my word for it, your Mother is in danger working for Luthor Corps."

Maria was shocked. What would make him say a thing like that? The concern in his eyes was real and it made the hair stand up on her neck. She replied "My Mother is a geneticist, she's working on a project that involves DNA and mutations, and she is seeking a cure for cancer and other diseases. How could that be dangerous?"

Clark's mouth dropped open. "She's researching mutations? What kind of mutations? Who's DNA?" Clark leaned toward her and his voice grew louder in alarm as he thought, dear god, what was this girl's Mother working on? His DNA, meteor infected people, both?

Maria shifted away from Clark. She started to get up. "Look uh…Clark," She was so rattled she couldn't remember his name for a second. "Thanks for the coffee and all, I'm really sorry about your shirt but, ah, I have to go." Good looking or not this guy was getting pretty intense and she wasn't comfortable with it.

Great, now she's scared of me, Clark thought, way to go Kent, not likely to go out with you now. "That's okay Maria," Clark said quietly "I'm sorry I got so insistent about your Mom's job. Lex and I have some, ah…history, that's all." He looked into her eyes, his expression very serious, as he said "You seem like a nice person and I'll bet your Mom is too. I hate to see someone like you involved with Lex Luthor. Nice people don't do well in his world."

Maria looked back at him. She didn't want to believe him, she didn't know him at all, but something told her she could trust him. She felt cold. She wanted to see her Mom right now and be sure she was okay. What had her Mom gotten into? "Thank you Clark" she said with a tremble in her voice, "I'll talk to my Mom about it." She gave him a weak half smile, "Bye" and she fled.

To be continued…